‘Tell me, Xenophon, have you not always believed Critobulus to be a man of sound sense, not wild and self-willed? Should you not have said that he was remarkable for his prudence rather than thoughtless or foolhardy?’ ‘Certainly that is what I should have said of him.’ said Xenophon ‘Then you are now to regard…

‘I remember meeting Reagan at a Hollywood party in the seventies (after had been governor, before he became president); when I mentioned knowing Allan Dwan, Reagan’s face transformed completely: from pleasantly bored to excited, compelled: ‘How is Alan? Give him my best, will you? I remember him very fondly.’ By now Reagan’s eyes had glazed…